When I begin editing a client’s draft, I invariably find these two duos of confusion:

Since used to mean because

Like used to mean such as

Let’s look at each of these pairs of confusion.
Since or Because?

• Since refers to time:

It’s been years since I’ve eaten s’mores!

• Because refers to consequence:

I avoid s’mores because of my marshmallow allergy.

Oh, yes, it does make a difference.

Look at these two nearly-identical sentences about Rafe’s love life. Changing just one word changes the sentence’s meaning.

Since he broke up with flaxen-haired Dominique, Rafe’s dated brunettes.

…

I belong to a few groups on LinkedIn. This last week, I’ve been amazed to see group members pose questions written using initial capital letters. Here are a couple of examples, altered slightly to avoid too explicit finger-pointing:

What’s A Reasonable Hourly Rate For…..?

Best Service for Access to On Line Publications?

Not only are initial capitals incorrect within a sentence, they are not easy to read. And (not that there are correct places to write incorrectly), this was on LinkedIn, where a professional should want to appear at her or his best!

So let’s review the …

Even in an online world increasingly influenced by social networking sites e-mail continues to play an integral part in marketing and promotion.

Like social networks, e-mail allows you to speak simultaneously and directly to clients, vendors, fans, or any other interested online parties, and unlike most social network presences, you get to define the avenue for direct feedback.

As with any marketing you want to generate interest in your company, strengthen your brand identity, and increase sales.  In addition, e-mail communications, especially bulk e-mail communications are frequently viewed as invasive, so it is important that recipients want you to stay in touch …

Barely a month into the New Year and I’m sticking with my resolutions: I just read Patricia O’Connor’s Woe is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English.

I recommend it to you, be you grammarphobe or grammarphile.

Ms O’Connor, as a former editor of The New York Times Book Review, has probably seen some truly wretched writing over the years. With Woe is I she firmly, kindly and wittily sets us straight.

Woe is I is easy to read. I know that it’s the grammarphiles among us who actually read, page by page, books …

I was raised to speak English well and to love the language.

Thanks, Dad.

My father was an officer, a gentleman and a Renaissance man. He grew up poor (…Oklahoma in the 30’s…) but smart. He joined the Navy, which got him a college education and two great careers (20 years with the Navy, 20 years with IBM), not to mention a life-changing introduction to the general’s daughter, and three adorable children.

Dad not only gave me the DNA, he gave me exceptional examples and lessons about loving the English language:

Read

My folks did not …